Surgeons to Transplant Heart in Ill Baby Today : Medicine: Robbie Shinn, victim of congenital defect that was killing him, has an 85% chance of survival, doctor says.
As a helicopter warmed up for takeoff atop Children’s Hospital of Orange County on Thursday, Westminster Police Officer Chuck Shinn reached in to touch the tiny passenger hooked up to a life support system.
“Be a good boy,” Shinn said softly to his son, 12-day-old Robert (Robbie) August Shinn. “Daddy will see you soon.”
Minutes later, Robbie Shinn was whisked away to Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital for a heart transplant that was scheduled to be performed early this morning. A CHOC doctor said that the baby has an 85% chance of surviving the operation and growing up to lead a normal life.
Robbie was born with a congenital heart defect and was slowly dying, doctors said. Earlier this week his parents and Westminster police put out an urgent plea for a heart donor for the critically ill baby. But because of Robbie’s hard-to-match blood type--B-positive--chances seemed slim.
Only hours before the drama on the roof Thursday evening, Shinn, his wife, Renee, and their 10-year-old son, Vincent, had gathered at the hospital for a solemn farewell to the dying baby.
“Robbie was deteriorating,” said his mother.
The father added: “We had brought Vincent home from summer camp because we thought this might be the last time he’d get to see and hold his little brother. Vincent was holding Robbie when the beeper went off this afternoon.”
The beeper, which Shinn has been carrying as Loma Linda Hospital sought a heart donor, relayed the prearranged signal that a heart had been found about 4 p.m. Rapid preparations were then made to fly Robbie to Loma Linda Hospital in San Bernardino County.
The parents said they knew nothing about the identity of the donor or the circumstances of death that made the small heart available for Robbie. The parents repeatedly expressed their gratitude.
“This is wonderful, wonderful,” said Chuck Shinn as he stood on the roof at CHOC, watching the helicopter prepare to take off for Loma Linda.
“I feel very happy,” said the older son, Vincent.
The parents, who could not fly on the helicopter with the baby, said they planned to drive to the Loma Linda hospital later Thursday night.
According to CHOC doctors, Robbie was born with one of his four heart chambers shriveled and an artery blocked. Each day, his life became more precarious. Dr. Steve Hanten, associate director of neonatal care at CHOC, said that had no heart been found by Saturday, the baby faced the only other lifesaving option, a heart operation that has a very high mortality rate.
“God has been taking care of us,” Chuck Shinn said shortly after a donor was found. “God has been with us every step of the way. We still have many hurdles, but we’re going to make it.”
Dr. Sudeep Singh, the baby’s physician at CHOC, said that Robbie is afflicted with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition in which part of the left side of the heart is defective and non-functional. The baby’s heart reroutes blood through an artery being kept open with medicine.
Robbie’s B-positive blood type had made it difficult to locate a donor because only 8.5% of the American population has a matching type. But the odds did not prove as difficult as first believed, medical officials said Thursday night.
“This baby had a relatively short wait,” said Dick Schaefer, spokesman for Loma Linda Hospital. “We’ve had babies with more common blood types have to wait longer. Last year, we lost three babies because we couldn’t find donors for them. Right now, we have three other babies waiting.”
Robbie’s surgery will be the 142nd such operation performed at the hospital on an infant under the age of 6 months since 1985. About 82% of those babies have survived, Schaefer said.
The heart donor must be an infant who died without suffering heart damage. The blood type and tissue, as well as the size of the heart, must match.
While the actual transplant is expected to take only an hour to perform, the baby’s body must undergo a lengthy body temperature process called “profound hypothermia,” which is done to prevent brain damage.
“It’s pretty straightforward surgery. But what makes it so unique is the size of the organs,” Schaefer said. “It’s really microsurgery because these little hearts only weigh about one ounce.”
After the surgery, Robbie, born on June 28, is expected to remain in the hospital for about two weeks.
Officers at the Westminster Police Department have worn blue ribbons next to their badges ever since their colleague learned that his newborn son needed a transplant. The officers also filled in for Shinn at work as he awaited word from Loma Linda.
On Thursday, the Westminster officers sent a teddy bear to Robbie. The bear’s shirt read: “Yes, we can. Robbie, we love you.”
Times staff writer Bob Elston contributed to this story.
